Jamaat-e-Islami will hold a public rally at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan on 29 November as part of its campaign against the petroleum levy, the party’s chief, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, has announced.

Addressing a press conference at the party’s Mansoorah headquarters in Lahore, he said the party had not abandoned its campaign and would continue negotiations with the government alongside street protests. He also announced a gathering in Quetta on 22 November, followed by rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi.

The party’s demand remains the complete abolition of the petroleum levy, rather than temporary reductions in pump prices. Hafiz Naeem said about nine to ten rounds of negotiations had taken place and that the party had submitted technical proposals, with the government indicating it would consider reducing the levy in stages.

Fuel prices have fallen, but the levy remains

The announcement comes as the government has cut fuel prices again. Petrol was reduced by Rs3 to Rs335 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs7 to Rs364 per litre, with the new rates effective from Thursday, 12 November. Jamaat-e-Islami argues that such cuts do not settle the argument, because the levy itself is still in place.

A Petroleum Division notification effective from 31 October retained an overall petroleum levy of Rs80 per litre on ordinary petrol and high-speed diesel, alongside a Rs5 climate support levy. The government’s 2026–27 federal budget projects petroleum-levy receipts of about Rs1.677 trillion, which is why the party’s demand for abolition would require replacement revenue, spending cuts or a revised fiscal framework.

What the party wants instead

Hafiz Naeem demanded that the fuel-relief scheme be widened. At present, eligible two- and three-wheelers receive Rs500 a week, and cars of up to 800cc receive Rs1,000 for ten days, under the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Scheme approved by the Economic Coordination Committee on 14 September. The party wants the benefit extended to vehicles of up to 1,300cc, as well as to tractors and public transport, arguing that salaried and middle-class families also use such vehicles.

As an alternative source of revenue, he proposed higher import duties and a heavier levy burden on vehicles above 1,800cc, and suggested restricting public officials to vehicles of no more than 1,300cc. These are the party’s proposals; they have not been adopted as government policy.

How the campaign reached this point

The party began sit-ins against the petroleum levy on 16 August and held a countrywide strike on 3 September. It later postponed its planned Islamabad “Super Long March” on 22 September after the prime minister asked for negotiations. The two sides have since held repeated rounds of talks, and broad outlines of a draft agreement on fuel relief were agreed on 10 November, with a further round expected this week and a final decision reserved for a possible meeting between the prime minister and Hafiz Naeem.

The November 29 rally is intended to keep pressure on the government while those negotiations continue. The party has said it will keep protesting until the levy is abolished, and has warned that it will resume its march on Islamabad if the talks fail to produce that outcome.

Sources: The Lahore Tribune, Daily Destination